Written by Grace Osiemi
Social media has a habit of repackaging movements/social issues in a way that is easy to digest for those with privilege. At an attempt to make feminism, more so intersectional feminism, seem more appealing to the masses, male feminists are too often hyped and made the face of the movement, such as Matt McGorry. He has made it clear that he supports the movement and wants to be a productive ally, but instead of speaking with feminists, he’s speaking over. At first his approach to feminism was intriguing, a cis white male celebrity who isn’t afraid to talk about social injustices, but it seems he’s more concerned with maintaining his title and praise than the people facing these injustices.
It isn’t bad that he’s a feminist or that he’s pro-black, but he isn’t a woman and he isn’t black, so the amount of space he’s taking up is starting to make many people in those communities uncomfortable. With the privilege he has as a cis white male, he should be recognizing and uplifting the voices of those who need to have their words heard: the minority groups in America. Unfortunately, many people give McGorry acclaim for being “woke” but remain silent when minorities, feminists, and pro-black people speak.
McGorry accepts praise for doing the bare minimum, almost as if he feels like he deserves a medal for being a decent human being. After months of black people explaining the significance of #BlackLivesMatter, McGorry restates everything they’ve said and becomes a “prominent pro-black male feminist” in society. People constantly thank him for the “work” he’s doing when in reality, he’s accepting praise that should be going to the well-deserved black activists and feminists who spent their lives getting out these exact same messages.
People are even claiming that he’s done more for the black community than black figures, which is without a doubt, false. The media constantly overlooks the messages of black celebrities, such as Nicki Minaj or Beyoncé, and Matt McGorry completely ignoring this shows that he is no longer within the safe limits of his “activism.” Black people have been saying these things on social media, the news, in protests, and any other outlets where people will listen. McGorry’s failure to recognize and point this out is another toxic aspect of his pro-black activism.
When discussing more mainstream feminist issues, McGorry often shares his own opinions and thoughts concerning different topics and he’s stepping out of line. Instead of using his privilege to draw attention to the personal experiences of women and those vigorously fighting for equality across all platforms, he voices his own ideas which takes away from people without privilege that need recognition. Too many people have said that he started a well-needed conversation that others were afraid to speak about and there is something very unsettling about this erasure of women who spend years to get their voices heard.
There is nothing wrong with male feminists speaking on issues. More people are finally becoming aware of the social injustices present in the world and that is incredible. Allies just need to understand the difference between speaking with us versus speaking over us, and they need to allow us the thrive in our own spaces instead of overshadowing us.
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